


Would You Like a Side of Fries with that?

by hickeystyles



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Explicit Language, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, drunk!Harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-22
Updated: 2015-03-22
Packaged: 2018-03-19 02:45:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3593451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hickeystyles/pseuds/hickeystyles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>University AU where Louis is in his flat on a Friday night studying for an important exam when he meets Harry for the first time as he barges into Louis' flat demanding french fries while extremely drunk. Louis is very confused but very attracted to this drunk stranger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Would You Like a Side of Fries with that?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I know this is a little bit shorter than my other stuff but I saw this [AU list](http://hickeystyles.tumblr.com/post/102401711957/oddly-specific-aus-i-need) and I knew I had to write an AU where Harry is really drunk and demanding and Louis doesn't know how to handle him.
> 
> P.S. I do realize that in Britain they call "fries" "chips" but I thought the story sounded better with the word "fries" so I kept it but it does take place in Britain :-)
> 
> As always, my tumblr is [hickeystyles](hickeystyles.tumblr.com) if you wanna message/follow!
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I don't own/know/associate with One Direction in any way. This work is a piece of fiction, and I am not in any way implying that I know anything about the members of One Direction, their sexual orientations and/or their relationships and all that stuff

Louis was pretty sure his bedroom smelled like someone died in it. 

He felt as if he should be somewhat ashamed of the state it was in (a pile of dirty clothes in the corner, some half eaten pizza crusts littered on greasy paper plates, a strange stain blooming on his comforter) but he really couldn’t be arsed to care. It was a fucking Friday night, and here he was, seven hours later, still studying for the physics exam he had in the morning that will either make or break his grade.

He rubbed the crust gathering on his eyelids with his fist, not even bothering to cover up the obnoxious yawn that sprouted from his mouth as he flipped another page in his textbook with his other hand, mentally cursing his professor and the stupid course. He knew he had to take it; the class had the credits he needed in order to graduate, even though physics had abso-fucking-lutely nothing to do with his degree. He was pretty sure teaching six year olds basic education had nothing to do with the damned class. He flipped another page, more aggressive than necessary, accidentally tearing a rip right through a diagram of a train. Wait, when did he start reading about _trains?_

“Mate, are you still alive?” his roommate, Niall, poked his blonde head in his bedroom, proceeding to wrinkle his nose after taking a whiff of the room. “Whoa, what is that _smell?_ ”

“It’s the smell of determination Niall,” Louis sniffed, flipping another page in his textbook without reading it, “something you’re clearly unfamiliar with.”

Niall shrugged, undeterred, walking in and sitting on the corner of Louis’ bed. “Smells more like me mum's burnt cabbage stew to me.”

Louis snorted, knowing exactly what stew Niall was referring to; it did, in fact, smell and taste disturbing. Not that he ever told Niall’s mum that; it was the kind of meal you had to grin and bear it and pray that she didn’t offer you seconds. “What are you still doing here, by the way?” Louis asked, putting down his pen, thankful for some distraction, turning to Niall, “don’t you have some plans to go to? It’s already, like, eleven o’clock.”

“Yeah, me and Liam are going to a party tonight actually. Don’t know the host, but a party’s a party, eh?” Niall grinned, bouncing a bit on the bed. The cheap springs squeaked mercilessly under his weight.

Louis sighed, desperately wishing he could go. Some shots of strong whiskey seem to be the perfect solution right now. It would definitely take away his pounding headache.

“You sure you don’t want to go? Liam said his fit friend Jeremy was gonna be there and he’s like, totally into you. I saw him ogling your arse last party we were at, might have been foaming at the mouth a bit,” Niall smirked, “not that I blame him. That thing could poke an eye out,” he added, reaching over and slapping Louis’ arse. 

Louis swatted him away, squawking. “Oi! While I know my arse is spectacular, my grade in physics is not, so as much as I want to attend, sadly, I can’t,” he explained, picking up his pen and rubbing at the spot it bled a little on his comforter. 

“Your loss,” Niall sang, hoisting himself off of Louis’ bed, “but we’ll be missing you! I’ll take lots of videos and I’ll take a fireball shot for you.”

Louis rolled his eyes fondly. “Alright you hyper shit, leave me alone so I can concentrate.”

Niall blew him a kiss dramatically as he walked over to Louis’ bedroom door. “Bye Lou!” he called as he shut the door behind him.

The air seemed eerily quiet without Niall’s whirlwind presence, even though he’d been sitting in silence all day. He just felt antsy, like he had to get out of the room, the pent up energy finally bubbling over. He tried reading, but it seemed like he kept reading the same passage over and over again. Centripetal force did _what?_ Louis’ headache pounded on, but he sat on his hands and forced himself to read.

 

-

 

Louis woke up to a face full of paper stuck to his cheek and a loud knock on the door. He cursed, looking at the digital clock that blared a bright light in his face, indicating it was three in the morning. Fuck. He didn’t mean to fall asleep. He had felt himself drifting around one or so after his antsyness wore off and he must have lost the battle of his eyelids. 

He felt a surge of panic at all of the notes he didn’t take yet, the exam looming over his head. He’d be taking it in mere hours.

The knock got louder and Louis blinked, forgetting that was the reason he even woke up in the first place. He peeled the loose leaf paper off his face, padding over to the front door, cracking his knuckles on the way. God, he felt stiff.

What he expected when he opened the door was Niall, forgetting his key to the flat, cursing up a storm at Louis for taking so long. 

What he was met with was a boy with bright green eyes. He was leaning against the door frame, his long legs crossed and clad in impossibly tight trousers, and he had an adorable pout on his plush lips, looking impatient. 

Also, he was belligerently drunk. 

Louis could tell by the littler details of the glassiness to his eyes and the rosiness to his cheeks and the faint smell of beer radiating off of him. Surprisingly, Louis wasn’t as grossed out by this as he knew he should be. 

When the boy realized the door in front of him opened, his eyes actually lit up, as if they were in some Disney movie, his lips curving into a lopsided grin, a dimple poking through his cheek. It was then Louis realized how pretty the boy was. He was hyper aware of the way he looked himself, in his ratty sweats and white v-neck that had stains all over it, with his greasy hair and the bags under his eyes. God, why didn’t he fucking _shower_ today?

His fretting was moot, though, as the boy didn’t even pay any attention to him, just clapped his large hands together excitedly and pushed past Louis into his flat, as if it was his. Louis stood frozen in the doorway for a moment, jaw open and confused, before turning and following this stranger into his own kitchen. He knew he should be concerned, but he was more curious as to why this attractive boy was now raiding his cabinets. He left every one open as he searched, huffing impatiently. The whole thing was loud and not smooth as the boy stumbled to each cabinet, his long limbs ungraceful under the influence of alcohol.

He finally stopped, the pout returning to his face as he placed his hands on his hips, standing in the middle of Louis’ kitchen, turning to Louis.

“Where are the French fries?” he asked, his voice deep and raspy, a bit slurred.

Louis was distracted by his voice at first to realize what he asked. It dawned on him a moment later and he blanched, wondering if he heard him right. “Um… what?”

“French fries? I am _starving_ , mate,” he explained slowly, as if Louis was the one being crazy.

“I… er, you do realize this isn’t your flat right?” Louis pointed out, not sure what to say. He must have still been dreaming. This didn’t just happen.

“Yeah, but I was just coming home from this party, and just, like, you know,” the boy said, this time slowly because he seemed to be struggling with his thought process. “French fries?” he asked again.

“No, I’m sorry, I don’t have French fries, but I have, uh,” Louis paused, going over to his freezer and pulling it open, “I have some bagels?” He really wasn’t sure why he was humoring this stranger, this beautiful, very drunk stranger.

“Nah, s’okay,” the boy shrugged, his grin back on his face, “I guess I’ll leave you to it, blue eyed boy.”

Louis’ heart thumped at the nickname and he had to remind himself to chill. The boy saluted him and walked (stumbled) toward the door, very unsteady on his black, boot clad feet. 

“Wait!” Louis called, the boy’s hand pausing on the doorknob, “it’s just like, I’ve noticed you’re a bit… inebriated?” – why did Louis sound like such a dork? – “and do you need a ride or summat?” If the boy was keen to wandering into random stranger’s flats, Louis was a bit worried about the boy. Who knows where he would end up if he kept wandering around? He was lucky Louis wasn’t a serial killer or something. Louis felt strangely protective over him.

The boy shook his head, his curls flopping around. “Nope! Got here all by meself, I think I could make it home, too,” he said, chipper, before making his way out of the door and before Louis could do anything rash like force him to sleep on his couch. Louis noticed he had one of Louis’ bananas tucked in his back pocket, probably swiping it when he was rummaging through his pantry, but then the boy’s cute butt was gone as Louis’ door clicked shut.

Louis blinked a few times, rubbing at his eyes again, wondering how this had become his life. 

All he could think was _what the fuck._

 

-

 

The next morning, Louis was too busy to remember the incident at first. 

He woke up late because he was extremely tired from all of the studying and he didn’t hear his alarm go off on his phone. It was only when Niall popped his head in, crunching loudly on his cereal, asking him if he already took his exam or not, that Louis realized he had about fifteen minutes to get to the physics building across campus.

He leaped out of bed and went without a shower (again), hoping his hair wasn’t too greasy, but knowing it absolutely was. He slipped on his sneakers and pulled on a dark blue jumper as he jetted out the door, calling out a goodbye to Niall that was muffled by the material.

He surprisingly made it on time, breath heavy and heart pounding, but he slid into his seat right as his professor was handing out the thick packets of paper. He took a deep breath, nerves settling in as the paper was slid onto his desk. 

Two long hours later, Louis was slamming his paper onto the professor’s desk. He was pretty sure he did well, but he definitely didn’t ace it. At some points, he was honestly ready to copy off of the bloke next to him. 

He ran his fingers through his fringe as he walked out of the physics building, his hands feeling empty as he stuffed them in his pockets, as he’d forgotten his bag at his flat. He felt only partial relief, knowing he’d feel completely relieved when he got his mark back.

As he turned the corner to his building, what he saw made him stumble in his tracks. 

He saw the gorgeous drunk bloke that barged in his flat the night before, hands wrapped around the straps of his brown messenger bag and his head thrown back in sunny laughter at the end of the path. He looked irritatingly not hung-over for the amount of alcohol he consumed the night before as he talked to another gorgeous guy who was all dark tones in his tan complexion and raven colored hair, the only color on him was the old paint that was splattered on his jeans. 

The drunk bloke (he should really find out his name) was still frustratingly beautiful, even more so now that he wasn’t stumbling about (even though, no, Louis will not admit the stumbling was adorable). He was still smiling as he adjusted a green beanie that was covering his long curls.

It was then that Louis realized he was standing in the middle of the pathway, very obviously staring. He blushed, hoping no one noticed, and tried to keep a low profile as he walked back to his flat. He doubted that the boy would recognize him after how drunk he was, but Louis didn’t want to chance it. He was not ready for that awkward confrontation of “hey I think you just barged into my flat to get French fries?” especially when he still looked as greasy as Niall’s countless bags of crisps stashed in his room. 

He made it to his flat safely, not even toeing off his shoes before he plopped down on the couch and groaned. He didn’t even have Niall to complain about the craziness his life had become, as it seemed as if the lad had already left for class. 

Louis absurdly wanted to talk to the drunk guy, know his name and the feel of his plush lips on his and see the way they would look wrapped around his dick, despite the fact he obviously could not handle liquor very well. 

For all Louis could know, he could be a sociopath who made it a habit to break into people’s flats because he didn’t know how to talk to people otherwise. Or he was a horrible criminal who barged in their flats to swipe things when their guard was down (and confused).

Louis really needed to get his head out of his arse and forget about the boy, but he knew, of course, that wouldn’t happen.

 

_

 

The world obviously liked playing jokes on Louis and thought it was funny to torture him.

It seemed that every day Louis would see the boy on campus, never interacting, just seeing him from afar. He’d see him rushing to class, books tight to his chest and wind through his curls, or he’d see him flipping through books in the library, hightlighting the text with one hand and his lips wrapped around a Styrofoam coffee cup that was in the other hand. He once saw him at the gym, his hair in a bun with a pink headband pushing his hair back, all sweaty and determined expression, and Louis, dry mouthed, turned around and walked out, work out completely forgotten. 

Of course, Niall thought it was fucking hilarious. He’d cackle his head off when they would pass the boy and Louis would hide his face in his book with a squeak, or when Louis would just moan on his bed about how frustrated he was about the situation. Niall told him to “man the fuck up and talk to the bloke and get laid,” but Louis really just didn’t know how to go about it.

“I’m ready to talk to him for you,” Niall said as he lay on the couch only in his pants, strumming a bit on his guitar one afternoon. 

Louis rolled his eyes as he munched on his bagel and wrote down notes from the novel he had to read for English, not responding.

“Louis is a nervous cunt and needs to get laaaid, if he doesn’t soon he’s gonna need my aiiiiiid, he’s wasting time when the curly haired boy could suck his diiick, Louis is being a downright priiiiiiick,” Niall sang as he strummed softly on his guitar. Louis just threw his book at him, but it just bounced off the guitar as Niall used it as a shield and laughed.

“It’s not that simple you twat,” Louis huffed, regretting throwing his book, because now he would have to go get it. He hoisted himself up, snatching the book from the ground and plopping back down on his seat.

Niall started to tune his guitar in case it got messed up in the book assault. “Seems pretty simple to me.”

Louis just sighed, turning a page aggressively in the book. “Simple my arse,” he mumbled under breath, too quiet for Niall to hear. 

“Hey, wanna go get a burger with me?” Niall said, changing the subject, “my stomach’s been grumbling for hours and I’m tired of eating your damn blueberry bagels.”

Louis paused his chewing, looking down at his bagel. He liked his bagel. “Nah, I’m good, but I could actually use some coffee, ‘cause my head is fried. I’ll walk down with you,” he offered, mouth full of food.

“Thata boy!” Niall grinned, leaping off of the couch before looking down, “I should probably put on some trousers.”

Louis laughed as he slipped on his shoes, “that might be a good idea. Wouldn’t want the campus to think you’re sleeping with me after this scandalous ‘morning-after’ walk.”

Niall scoffed. “Please, even if I were into men, I have a thing called standards.” 

“Which is why the shirt you’re putting on has a huge stain on it,” Louis pointed out.

“This is your shirt,” Niall said with raised eyebrows.

“Shit,” Louis muttered as Niall cackled.

“C’mon mate, I’m starving,” he exclaimed, clapping Louis on the back before zipping out of the door in a blur of enthusiasm. Louis just shook his head, locking the door behind him before jogging to catch up.

The two chatted and bantered a bit as they walked along campus towards the dining hall. Once they reached it, Niall gave Louis a two fingered salute and a quick “see ya mate!” and headed towards the fast food booth, the greasy smell of the burgers in the air. Louis shook his head, not bothering to reply to the retreating blonde boy’s back, heading over to the café to get his coffee. He honestly didn’t even like coffee – he was more of a tea guy – but the high caffeine seemed very refreshing right now. He would just have to coat it in gallons of milk and sugar, which would go straight to his already large thighs, but he concluded he could use the treat. It had been a pretty stressful few weeks.

As Louis was waiting in the queue, he shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, taking in his surroundings. There was a constant hum of conversation, almost drowning out the soft sounds of what had to be a Maroon 5 song on the radio, and there was a strong scent of a new coconut creamer in the air. Most of the people at the tables seemed to be university students. Some were reading, some were sitting there and chatting animatedly over latte cups, some were typing slowly on their laptops behind droopy eyes. One guy in particular was face down in his book, mouth slightly parted and eyes closed, coffee forgotten. Louis was pretty sure he never related to anyone more.

He scanned over the people in line, many seeming like they were in a hurry, checking their watches frequently with tapping feet, some seemed like they had all the time in the world, talking loudly on their phones with overenthusiastic hand gestures, and some stood giggling quietly with friends. He was about to turn back around, as he was almost next in line, when he noticed he recognized one of the guys about five people down the line. He was reading a creased section of the school newspaper, right in the section with comics and doodles, a small smile on his face as he pushed his black-rimmed glasses higher on his face. 

It was the drunk guy’s good friend, the beautiful tan boy who Louis saw with the lad more often than not. Louis felt panic in his throat for a minute as he scanned the rest of the shoppe, expecting to see a bout of curly hair, since the two seemed to always travel in a pair. He relaxed a bit when he didn’t, turning back to look at the other boy again. To his surprise, he was met with dark brown eyes staring back at him, squinting, looking at Louis intently, as if he recognized Louis from somewhere or something. Which was impossible. Louis never met him, just noticed him from afar, usually more distracted by his green-eyed best friend.

Louis was saved from the uncomfortable staring when there was a throat clear behind him. He turned to see he was next in line, the barista looking at him impatiently. He blushed a little, scooting up in the line and giving her a sheepish smile. “What would you like, sir?” she asked, clearly still trying to be polite through her annoyance. Her smile was more of a grimace. She looked a bit hung over, bags under her eyes with slight makeup smudged, as if it’d been there since the night before, a slight pale color to her face. It really explained the crabbiness. 

“Hi, just a vanilla latte,” he said, blurting the first thing he saw on the menu, as he forgot to look at it prior to his stare off. He hoped it wasn’t too sweet.

She nodded, turning around to create the drink, leaving Louis to just wait. He felt eyes on the back of his head, and he chewed the inside of his lip, feeling self-conscious. He really just wanted to get his coffee and go find Niall.

The barista finally gave him his latte, impatiently holding her hand out for Louis’ money. Louis fished a few crumpled bills from his pocket, placing them in her outstretched hand and practically ripped the cup off of the counter, throwing a quick “thanks!” behind him as he headed towards the door. 

His phone vibrated in his pocket, nearly making him jump out of his skin and he thankfully didn’t spill his coffee. He paused in front of the door, undoubtedly blocking the entrance, but he didn’t care. He scanned the message and groaned.

**Niall: lou the tables outside the fast food joint are sooooo crowded wtf !! save a seat for us in the coffee shop (preferably the red cushioned booth in the far corner) thx buddie ill be there in a few minutes ! line is crawlin**

Louis sighed. He really didn’t want to be in the coffee shop for longer than necessary, but the booth did look pretty cozy in the corner, and he always enjoyed hanging out with Niall over homework. He needed to stop being paranoid; for all he knew, the tan bloke really did mistake Louis for someone he knew. 

Louis turned and made his way over to the booth, squeezing through the tight isles, narrowly missing clipping his hip on the corner of a table. He sat down, peering out the window, waiting to see if he could spot Niall’s tuft of blonde hair through the crowded campus. 

The cheap vinyl seat in front of him squeaked under a new weight. Looking up, Louis really expected Niall, surprised at how fast he got there, but when he looked up, he was met with the same brown eyes from the tan boy in line. Why was he sitting in his booth? Louis felt panic shoot up his spine. 

“Mate… do I know you?” Louis asked, trying to sound nonchalant. He sipped his coffee and refused to make eye contact, trying to seem busy. He felt itchy.

The boy stared at him for a beat longer, before his furrowed eyebrows smoothed out and a look of realization dawned on his face. His eyes instantly glowed with mirth, as if he was in on an inside joke that Louis wasn’t a part of. “I knew it,” he muttered to himself, a smirk coloring his face. Louder, he said, “I’m sorry for disturbing you. I just have to ask, what’s your name?” He still had a twitch to his lips, as if he was really trying to keep from laughing. He had a really strong but pretty accent.

Louis blanched. “Louis,” he answered, not sure why he was just accepting these questions from this stranger. 

“Louis. Nice. Okay, would you by any chance tell me what building you live in, mate?”

Louis stared at him. “No, _mate_. I don’t know you.” Was drunk boy’s friend a stalker? A stalker and a trespasser; they made a good pair. 

The boy shrugged. “I’m Zayn.”  
“Okay, _Zayn_ , I don’t know you.”

Zayn was about to speak again when they heard an Irish accent ask, “Zayn? What are ya doin’ here?”

Louis and Zayn both turned to the isle where Niall was standing, Styrofoam tray consisting of his burger and his fries in one hand as he munched on a fry in his other hand.

“Niall, you know Zayn?” Louis asked, incredulous. 

Niall nodded, shoving Louis over without asking and slipping into the booth. “Yeah, me and him met at a party a week or so ago. This man rolls the most impressive joints I’ve ever seen, lemme tell you,” Niall grinned as Zayn laughed.

“Guilty,” he admitted, stealing a fry off of Niall’s tray and pouring more salt on the already excessively salted food before popping it in his mouth. Louis tried not to wrinkle his nose. 

“How do you know Zayn, Lou?” Niall asked, shoving too much of his burger in his mouth at once. Louis was impressed he didn’t choke.

“I don’t,” Louis deadpanned, shooting Zayn a pointed look. Zayn just raised an eyebrow.

“Oh,” Niall said, unfazed, “well that needs to change! Wanna come back to our building for a bit? We can smoke some weed and play video games.”

“Niall, I have homework,” Louis protested.

Niall shrugged. “Not important.”

Zayn nodded, agreeing. “Not important. I’m in.”

 

-

 

Despite his suspicious behavior upon meeting him, Zayn was actually pretty cool.

At first, Louis just pouted at the kitchen table, trying to read his novel through the sounds of Fifa and Niall and Zayn’s laughter. They hot-boxed the entire living room and their weed smoke was drifting into the kitchen, distracting him. He growled angrily swatting at the smoke and broke his pencil tip on his notebook paper before stomping over to them.

“Hey, could you guys, like, keep it down?” Louis said, trying not to sound annoyed as he felt.

“Mate, chill,” Niall said through a mouthful of smoke, blowing it out and giving him a dopey smile.

“Why don’t you take a break and join us? I could use someone who can actually beat me,” Zayn grinned through bloodshot eyes.

Niall squawked at Zayn as Louis deliberated. The weed would make him a lot less stressed. Plus, the more he thought about it, the more he regretted the crabby way he had acted earlier. Zayn was the green eyed boy’s best mate, and although he would never admit it, he kind of… wanted to impress Zayn. Wanted him to like him. If Zayn liked him, in the off chance he told the other boy about Louis, then maybe he’d get talked up. Maybe. Not that Louis was hopeful or anything. 

“I mean, I guess one game wouldn’t hurt,” Louis shrugged, plopping down next to Niall on the couch, “now hand me the spliff blonde boy.”

Niall cheered and handed Louis the joint. He inhaled deeply while he waited for Zayn to set up their new game, blowing out the smoke and letting the weed take over him. 

 

-

 

An hour later, Louis was really fucking high.

The three of them had decided to put on some comedy film that none of them were really watching, definitely something involving too much alcohol and a night in Vegas. They were mostly just talking and giggling like a bunch of school girls, Louis’ homework long forgotten. Zayn’s eyes were really squinty and Niall’s cheeks were a blushing red, when Louis really just couldn’t keep the stupid grin off his face.

“Zayn, you still haven’t told me why you approached me earlier,” Louis blurted out, popping a pretzel in his mouth. He didn’t mean to put it so bluntly, but his brain was so fuzzy and he was just so curious. “Proper scared me mate, I thought you were trying to stalk me.”

Zayn giggled, shaking his head. “Nah, I’m just trying to help Harry out, don’t worry.” Harry? Who in the hell was Harry? And why was knowing where Louis lived going to help Harry out?

“Who in the hell is Harry?” Louis asked.

“My best mate. Tall? Curly hair? Annoying as hell? Ring any bells?” Zayn prompted, pushing his glasses higher on his nose. It seemed as if it was a habit for him, a thing he did periodically and subconsciously.

Louis felt his pulse quicken. Right. So Harry was Zayn’s best mate, and consequently, the boy with the green eyes who had been haunting Louis for the past few weeks. Beautiful drunk boy. 

“Wow, right,” Louis breathed, and Zayn watched him, amused. It seemed like he knew why Louis seemed flustered all of a sudden.

“Why wow?” he smirked, crossing his arms. He looked like Louis’ mother when she knew the answer to what she was asking, but wanted to hear Louis say it himself. It was horribly frustrating.

“No reason,” Louis sniffed, “I don’t even know who this so called ‘Harry’ is.” He put air quotes on Harry’s name.

Zayn hummed in agreement, but he still had that smug look on his face. Louis huffed but didn’t reply. 

“Why does knowing our address help ol’ Harry out?” Niall piped up. Louis forgot he was even there.

“Why do you think? He wants to apologize to Louis about the whole fries thing. He’s been making himself mental about it for weeks now. If he wasn’t so drunk he would remember where your flat was located, and he said he wanted to apologize properly, like not just randomly on campus, ‘cause he’s an annoying prat like that. Wants to practice and be all suave before coming up to you,” Zayn explained, rolling his eyes.

Louis’ heart started beating faster. “Zayn… please don’t tell him where I live, please.”

“Why not?” Zayn asked, furrowing his brow.

“Because I would literally have no idea what to say to him. He’s way too pretty,” Louis explained. He definitely didn’t mean to say the last part, and he felt himself blush as Zayn started to cackle.

“I wish he were here right now, that would’ve made his day,” Zayn snickered, “not only has he been moaning about his lack of manners by, you know, completely barging into a stranger’s house, he’s been moaning about how he had to barge into the ‘most attractive boy’s flat’ and how it was just his luck to make an arse out of himself in front of you.” 

Louis felt his blush deepen. “Now you’re just making stuff up,” he scoffed, “as pretty as I am” – Niall snorted – “Harry was way too drunk to remember what I looked like. He couldn’t even see straight.”

Zayn shrugged. “All he said was ‘the prettiest boy with the best arse,” Zayn paused leaning over to check out Louis’ bum, “Yep. Sounds about right.”

Niall started laughing again as Louis swatted him. “How did you even know to approach me? While my arse is the best on campus, I’m sure there are other boys with pretty good ones.”

“He knows it’s you, trust me. He’s been hiding from you whenever he sees you. He’s absolutely mortified by the whole situation. He’s been practicing what he’s going to say to you for a bit now. So, like, when you see him, I hope you know if he comes off as smooth, it’s ‘cause he practiced,” Zayn clarified. 

Louis felt his heart flutter. That was probably the cutest thing he had ever heard. 

“So it’s all settled. Louis thinks Harry’s really attractive, Harry thinks Louis is really attractive, and now I’m going to write down our address so Zayn can make this match happen,” Niall clapped, hoisting himself up. Louis desperately grabbed the back of Niall’s t-shirt, pulling him back down on the couch.

“No, please, give me like another week, tops,” Louis begged, “or, like, forever. I can deal with not seeing Harry, I’ll just admire him from afar.”

Zayn rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, Lou.” Him and Niall shared a suspicious look that Louis didn’t like. “Well, I should probably get going, I actually have to meet up with Harry soon, oddly enough. But we should all meet up again, this was fun.”

Niall nodded vigorously as Louis smiled, agreeing to that as well. He really liked Zayn.

“I’ll walk you to the door,” Niall offered, hoisting himself up off the couch. As he and Zayn headed towards the door, they were both whispering, but Louis couldn’t quite hear what they were saying. Louis sighed, but he decided not to say anything, even though he knew for a fact that they were talking about him. He just figured he would find out sooner or later.

 

-

 

A few days later, Louis was watching a rerun of a football game after class, his eyes a bit droopy as the day wore him out. Granted, it was only 2:00 in the afternoon, but Louis didn’t mind the thought of a little cat nap. He sighed, groaning as he got up to get the fuzzy blue blanket his mum got him when he moved into his dorm that was situated somewhere on his messy bedroom floor.

Stretching and cracking his back, he turned towards his front door when he heard a knock on it, almost hesitant in volume.

Huh. Most of his friends were awfully annoying and would’ve knocked loudly.

He blinked sleepily as he opened the door, holding back a yawn. 

When he was met with bright green eyes, he jolted awake as if he was electrocuted.

It was Harry, of course it was Harry, leaning against the door all beautiful and casual and Louis was slammed with déjà vu. He looked just as beautiful has last time, even better, because this time he wasn’t mussed up with the effects of alcohol. Louis swallowed thickly, suddenly really nervous.

“Hello,” Louis said first, a little uncertainly because it seemed like Harry wasn’t going to speak. His stance was casual, but Louis could see a hint of nerves behind his eyes and by the way he kept playing with the cross necklace placed on his chest. His very open chest, as his shirt was distractingly unbuttoned, and Louis had to force himself not to stare.

“Hi,” Harry replied, his voice still just as low and arousing as Louis remembered. 

“Uh, how can I help you?” Louis tried, hoping for nonchalance. 

Harry rubbed the back of his neck. “Er, I’m sure you remember me, don’t you?” he gave a self-conscious chuckle.

Louis smirked, but his eyes were kind. “It would be hard not to, banana boy.” He didn’t mean for it to come out, but seeing how Harry was just as nervous as he was made his nerves dissipate. His joke seemed to snap Harry out of his state of uncertainty as well.

Harry let out a breathy laugh. “Shit, that was your banana wasn’t it? I woke up so confused why there was a mushed banana on my bum.”

Louis laughed. “Not a pleasant way to wake up, I’m sure.”

There was a brief pause where the two were just smiling at each other when Louis remembered his manners.

“Oh, um, do you want to come in? Maybe have a cup of tea?” He offered, gesturing to his flat behind him. 

Harry’s grin got wider, his adorable dimple poking out of his cheek. “I’d love that. I'm Harry by the way.”

Louis refrained from saying "I know" and just offered a "I'm Louis," as he stepped aside, letting Harry in as the boy toed off his boots. Harry had a little smile on his face as he took in the flat. Louis was sure it wasn’t much, considering the living room was just a ratty couch and a tv with too many game consoles attached to it, the walls littered with posters and knick knacks he and Niall have picked up over the years, but Harry seemed to like it.

“What kind of tea do you want?” Louis asked as he wandered into the kitchen. Harry followed closely behind, then plopped down on one of rickety chairs set up at their makeshift kitchen table. It really was an old picnic table that used to be in Louis’ backyard back home, but his mum let him have it when she found out he and Niall were eating their dinners in their laps. She didn’t know it was always takeout food or microwave dinners, but Louis never planned to tell her that lest she insisted on moving in to cook for them.

“Just green tea and honey, please,” Harry answered, crossing his ankles.

Louis wrinkled his nose at that but turned to his black tea kettle and started filling it with water.

“So is it a habit of yours to make yourself extremely at home at stranger’s flats?” Louis teased.

Harry’s face flushed red as he stood up. “Sorry, I should have asked to sit down– “

“Whoa, Harry, I’m kidding,” Louis chuckled, placing a warm hand on Harry’s shoulder. He smiled sheepishly at Louis before sitting back down.

“Er, that’s kind of why I’m here,” Harry said after a moment, “I wanted to apologize for the other night. Like, the one a month ago, I mean. It was just so, so, so, rude and I would’ve never done that if I wasn’t so…”

“Wasted?” Louis offered as the kettle started to whistle.

Harry rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, wasted. It was so not cool and god, I had this whole speech written out before I came but I can’t remember any of it. You’re making me nervous.”

Louis giggled, placing the tea in front of Harry before sitting across from him. “Mate, I’m the least intimidating person ever. But no, it’s really okay. It was a nice distraction from my boring studying.”

“Still, I really am sorry. How can I make it up to you?”

Louis paused. “Buy me a new banana? Seriously, I was looking forward to that banana the next morning, all nice and plump, and now it’s somewhere on your bed. Mushed.” Louis shook his head, forlornly. 

Harry laughed, blushing again. “I can definitely do that.”

He took a long sip of his tea, his large hands wrapped around the polk-a-dotted mug, and Louis was transfixed by it. He had lovely hands.

“Well, I should probably get going, shouldn’t I?” Harry frowned, checking his phone for the time. He got up and walked over to the sink, placing his used mug in the pile of dishes Louis and Niall still hadn’t gotten around to washing. “Thank you so much for the tea, and just like, being so cool about everything.”

Louis felt panic rush into his stomach. It sounded like a final goodbye. Harry couldn’t go yet; the banana thing was _so_ a joke and Louis was afraid he’d never see him again. He had to see him again. 

Harry was walking over to the door, Louis trailing him when Louis took a deep breath, deciding to go big or go home. Even though he was already home. Ha. “Um, Harry?”

“Yeah?” Harry paused, turning to look at Louis.

“Go on a date with me?” he blurted. Smooth. “I mean, like, you can make it up to me by going on a date with me?” He didn’t mean to keep talking in questions, but then again, his delivery was supposed to be suave and look how that turned out.

Harry’s face split into a grin. “I would love that.”

Louis let out a breath. “Good. How about Saturday?”

“Of course, yeah,” Harry agreed, “what do you want to do?”

“Dinner, maybe?” Louis could definitely picture the two of them at a nice restaurant, Harry’s lovely hands wrapped around a wine glass and his pink lips stained red with spaghetti sauce, the column of his neck on display when he’d throw his head back and laugh. 

Or maybe Harry was adventurous. He seemed like the type, considering the way he just barged into Louis’ flat last month, so maybe the two could get dinner somewhere cool, like have a picnic in the woods or on the beach or - 

“We can get French fries?” Harry suggested, making Louis chuckle. Not exactly what Louis had in mind, but it was adorable. Louis wouldn’t mind a no pressure date, just the two of them eating French fries at a diner with milkshakes. Maybe Louis could kiss the chocolate off of Harry’s mouth.

“You’re obsessed. Maybe I take my offer back. I’m going out with a crazy fry obsessed boy,” Louis said instead of voicing his thoughts, realizing his fantasies with Harry might have been a little weird.

“Heyyyy, no,” Harry pouted, “we can do something else if you want.”

Louis grinned. “No, French fries sound perfect.”

**Author's Note:**

> Well that's it! Hope you all enjoyed it because I loved writing it (especially Niall's character not gonna lie). As always, please leave feedback and I'm still writing new stuff so I'm sure there will be some stuff in a few months or so! x


End file.
